CalMatters vs PublicCEO
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CalMatters
Access in-depth, nonpartisan news and analysis focused on California's quality of life issues. Hold leaders accountable with investigative journalism covering the Golden State and its global economic impact.
- In-depth news analysis
- Focus on quality of life issues
- Investigative journalism
- Accountability reporting
- Covers California and its economy
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CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe, explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable. We are the only journalism outlet dedicated to covering America’s biggest state, 39 million Californians and the world’s fifth largest economy.
PublicCEO
Access timely news and insights for local government leaders in California. This app offers a clean, intuitive reading experience to keep you informed on important topics without distractions, whether you're browsing headlines or in-depth content.
- Timely news and insights
- Focus on local government leaders
- Clean and intuitive reading experience
- Easy browsing of headlines
- In-depth content exploration
- On-the-go updates
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PublicCEO (PCEO) — California's Top News for Local Government Leaders is your go-to source for timely news, insights, and updates across topics that matter most. Designed for clarity and speed, PublicCEO delivers a clean and intuitive reading experience so you can stay informed without distractions. Whether you’re browsing headlines, exploring in-depth content, or checking updates on the go, PCEO makes it easy to stay in the loop.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: CalMatters at 18 against PublicCEO's 1. CalMatters also leads on chart position (#206 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). PublicCEO's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for CalMatters against 5.0 for PublicCEO. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CalMatters has 18 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
CalMatters ships an update fortnightly, PublicCEO every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CalMatters | PublicCEO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (18 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 18 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #206 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | CalMatters | Tripepi, Smith and Associates, Inc. |
Customer experience
CalMatters
PublicCEO
In-app purchases
CalMatters
No in-app purchases
PublicCEO
No in-app purchases
